Daily Inspiration: Meet Mallory Hansen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mallory Hansen. 

Hi Mallory, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m Mallory — founder of mindful made co. I moved to Nashville 3 years ago from Chicago via Michigan and LA, and love it here. Formally, I’m a graphic designer with a background in branding/identity development and small business marketing. I moved here with my boyfriend, who proposed in 2019, we found out we were unexpectedly expecting, and then eloped in a matter of 2 months. Fast forward a few months, the pandemic started I was furloughed immediately from my marketing job, but I had been searching for a new career path for awhile.

After giving birth in the middle of a pandemic via emergency c-section, the road to recovery looked completely different than I had planned, and the 4th trimester was a roller coaster of emotions. I immediately realized there was a huge gap in the system. I started talking to more moms about their experiences, and heard various struggles. Generally, moms are struggling with anxiety/stress, pressure, guilt, finding time for everything and themselves. Around 93% of moms are feeling burnt out. Burnout and stress can show up in many ways – exhaustion, overwhelm, stress, parental mood disorders, and many moms feel that there’s nowhere to go to seek help or that no one will take them seriously, even more so hear this from the BIPOC community.

That being said, I really love having conversations with mothers and helping them find ways to feel empowered, and all of this led to the start of mindful made co.

So mindful made company was born after I lost my job – we curate postpartum and self-care boxes for moms. Designed to empower, support, and love. It is the best way (in my biased opinion) to help a mom remember that “she’s still in there”. In motherhood, we have a tendency to put everyone else before ourself. You and your health are important in order to be a whole human for your little ones. Whether it’s the 4th trimester or 6 years postpartum, self-care is part of your life via all the choices you make daily. It doesn’t have to be complicated, and we are here to bring ease to it with holistic, organic, nourishing products that will help heal/soothe, build self-care rituals rather than just slapping on a face oil and moving on. Whether mama has 30 seconds or 30 minutes of alone time in a day, it’s important to build that mind-body connection and get into the parasympathetic nervous system, to reduce the fight or flight mode that many of us survive in and reduce stress.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think there is rarely a smooth road, but it also has a lot to do with mindset and perspective. There are always going to be challenges in each season of life. I struggled a lot with postpartum anxiety, which was just another factor to forming my business — and each postpartum box has mental health resources for offering that little bit of extra support. Losing my job last year was an extra challenge at a time I didn’t expect or foresee. No one expected a worldwide pandemic that would last over a year. I didn’t expect to have a baby and become a mom, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. If we focus more on how we want to feel about situations and events rather than expectations, we can start to find more ease in everything we do. Starting a business in a pandemic as a new mom is definitely full of challenges, but I’m grateful every day that I get this opportunity. I’m so grateful for all of the connections I make daily and for the opportunity to support other moms – I feel honored anytime a mom feels comfortable enough to allow me into their story and life.

So let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Most people think we’re just a postpartum company, and first, postpartum is for life so that includes all mamas. And second: we have postpartum boxes AND self-care boxes, in large and minis! All our boxes are carefully curated with organic, holistic, amazing products.

I LOVE meeting new moms, I also love collaborating and supporting other mom-owned businesses however I can. I love that social media has given us this unique way of connecting and forming relationships, and I think many people forget its called “social” for a reason. We’re nothing without our community. You can find us primarily on Instagram, or TikTok if you’re into that, @themindfulmade sharing relatable #momlife, mom hacks and things to make life easier, normalizing the struggles of motherhood, or collaborating with other moms to bring our community new perspectives and expertise.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Don’t let anything stop you from going for your dreams, and also stop waiting. There is no better time than now, and that’s not a cliche, it’s a fact. If you’re sitting there thinking “I don’t know what I’m doing / she knows more than I do etc…” reframe that thought. I promise you will learn as you go, but you won’t learn anything if you don’t start now. Ignore other’s opinions unless they are helpful to you — learn to block the negativity & noise out. Also, don’t work with friends or family – support each other, but don’t work together. It never goes well. Never stop learning and growing and there’s always always always room for both.

Thank you for reading and supporting mindful made co!

Pricing:

• self-care box $89.99
• postpartum box $74.99
• branding consulting $99 for 30-60 minutes

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.themindfulmade.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/themindfulmade
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themindfulmade
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4HJ9pfUYl22wOKJ-f8IWlg
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@themindfulmade?

Image Credits
Elle Jackson Photo